Water and air tube connection



Dec. 20, 1927.

w. A. SMITH WATER AND AIR TUBE CONNECTION Filed Aug. 26. 1926 ATTNEY.

INVENTOR gllzm es'ma'lfi.

' Patented Dec. 1927. v

WWW-amiss ret st cancel WILLIAM A. SMITH, or SAYBE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TOINGERSQLL-RAND com- PANY, or JERSEY cIrY, NEWJEBSEY, A coRronA'rIon or nnw JERSEY.

WATER AND AIR TUBE CONNECTION.

Application fled August '26, 1928. Serial 110,131,731.

Thisinventionv relates to rock drills, but more particularly to a water and air tube connection for fluid actuated rock drills of the hammer type. p 7 I The objects of the invention are to securely hold a pair of fluid conveying tubes in a rock drill,toprevent leakage of fluid from the back'head into the cylinder, and to simplify the construction and operation of devices of this. character. I Other objects will be in and in part obvious.

The invention consists of the combination of'elements and arrangement of'parts substantially as hereinafter described and more part pointed out particularly pointed out in. the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional elevation ofa rock drill equipped with a connection constructed in accordance with the practice of the invention,

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail sectional view of the back'head illustrating. the channels through which pressure fluid is con- Veyed to the outer. or air tube, and i v Figure, 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 illustrating the channels through which water is conveyedfrom a source of supply to an inner or water tube. V V

Referring to the drawings, the invention is embodied in arock drill in which a cylinder A, a front head B, and a back head 0 comprise the casing of the drill and are held in assembled position with respect to each other by the usual side bolts (not shown). A front cylinder washer acts as a closure for the front end ofthe cylinder A and is bored to receive slidably a fluted extension E of a hammer pistonF reciprocable in the cylinder A. g Arranged in the front end of the front head B is a chuck jaw G having flats H which cooperate. with wings J of a hollow drill steel K for preventing relative rotation between the jaw and the drill steel. At. the

rearward end of the chuck Gr are formed clutch members L of a well known type which interlock with similar clutch members 0 formed on the forward end of a chuck the front head, and

for the "wings J to limit inward movement of" P. Achuck bushing .13 arsed bythe and.

1? holds the drill'steel K centrally ,.within;

also acts as an abutment Elie drill steel in the front head. The chuck is in this" instance interlocked with the fluted extension E of the piston F by means of a chuck nut R screwedinto the rearward 3 i 7 end of the chuck P.

Means are provided for rotating the drill steel in the drill hole. Such means consist in the present instance of a riflebar S which engages the piston F in the usual manner and carries "at its rearward end ,a head T in which are arranged suitable pawl'devices U. The pawls U are I are adapted to be forced outwardly by suitable spring pressed engage: teeth Vof holding the rifle bar S stationary during the rearward'strokeofthe piston. In this way the piston and the drill steel, together with 1 the associated interlocking parts, may ropreferably of a'type which plungers (not shown) to a' 'ratc'het ring W for tate a partial revolution to'change theposi tion of the drill steel in the .drill hole. The pawls U'are so positioned in theheadT that during the forward stroke of the piston, or

in other words, the delivery stroke, the rifle bar will be free to rotate with the piston. In this'in'stance'the riflebar extends through a bore X of a back cylinder acts as a closure for the rearward end of the cylinder. 7 I v 1 Pressure fluid foractuating' the drill is conveyed to a valve cliest Z through a connection 6 and the admission of such pressure fluid,

washer Y which.

into the valve chest is controlled bya throt tle valvec provided with a lever 01 whereby the'said throttle valve may be manipulated. Any suitable type of valve (not shown) may be arranged in the valve chest Z for controlling the distribution of pressure fluid to the cylinder A. a

To the end that a consi zant supply of cleansing fluid, such as water,,may be conveyed to'thedrill steel Kfor flushingor cleansing, the drill hole,a pair oftubes e, and f are arranged concentrically with re-V- spect to each other and extend through, the cylinder A with their forward ends and with their rearward endsinto the back head C.

The inner or water tube 7 is preferably of sufficient length to permit its front end to extend within the drill steel K and the outer tube '6 is preferably only of a length to extend with its front end slightly rearwardly r Wardend of the tube 6 is stant communication with a recess p in the water plug'o, communicating with the re-' miss 7' through longitudinal passages g n of the drill steel K when the said drill steel is in its rearwardmost limiting position.

Near the rearward. end of the tube 6 is formed a bulb g which is' seated in a tapered bore h inthe back head C to form a fluid tight joint for preventing leakage of fluid from a recess 9' in the back head G into the cylinder A. The recess "j is preferably threaded throughout a portion of its length as at k to receive a water plug 0 which bears with its front end on the bulb g for pressing the said bulb to its seat. I The rearpreferably extended into the water plug o'and is in conthe forward or 1111181 portion of the water lug'o; 1

Suitable channels are provided for conveying pressure fluid from the throttle valve to the recess 1'. Toy this end a passage r is formed in the back head C to communicate at one end with the inner end of the recessj and at its other end with a ferrule s inter- .leading to the throttle valve 0. The passage posed between the back head and the cylinder, said'ferrule forming a continuation of the passage r and'registering with a passage t in the cylinder and the valve chest and tie preferably so positioned with respect to the throttle valve that when pressure fluid is being admitted to the distributing valve' a constant supply of pressure fluid willbe simultaneously supplied'to the tube 6 during the reciprocation of the piston( The tube 7", like th tube 6, is also provided with a bulbu near its rearward end which cooperates with a tapered bore o .in the water plug 0 for preventing leakage of water between the'bulb and the water plug. A convenient means for holding the bulb it on its I ac seat is providedin the form of a plug w.

which is screwed into the rearward end of the water plug 0 to bear against the bulb u. A cap 00 screw-ed on the end ofthe water plug o'serves to lock said water plug firmlyin position and is adapted to bear on thelback head C for sealing the recess If desired, a gasket 2 may be interposed between the cap as and theback head to seal the recess y.

r Cleansing water is in this instance conveyed to the back head through a connection 2, and such water may then pass through a passage 2in the back head, through a 1011- through an aperture 4 in the plug/w. The aperture t is preferably of smaller diameter than the bore of'the tube fto control the g1tudina'l groove 3 in the water plug 0 and amount of water admitted to the said tube.

In the'operation of the device, whenever the throttle valve 0 is moved to the position for admitting pressure fluid to the distributing valve, pressure fluid will be simultane ously admitted to the passage at from whence it will flow through the ferrule s, the passage 7", into the recess y and through the passages 19 and the recess p intothe tube 5. At the same timeithe valve or other means whereby the supply of water to the drill is controlled may be opened, and the water will then flow through the passages connecting the connection 2' with the water tube f and thence through the tube into the drill steel. In this way an adequate supply of cleansing liquid may be at all times suppliedto the drillhole under suflicient pressure to remove anygac cumulated cuttings from the saiddrill hole.

This is a desirable feature indevices of this character since water under sufficient pressure to remove the cuttings is not at all 7 times available.

I claim:

1. In a rock drill, the combinationof eylinder, a back head for the cylinder havmg a recess constantly exposedto pressure fluid at its inner end, a palr of concentrlcally arranged fluid conveying't'ubes'extendj ing through the cylinder and the recess, bulbs on said tubes, a for the bulb on the outer tube, a water 'plug in the recess for holdingthebulb of" the outer tube firmly on its seat, said water plug having passages for conveying I pressure fluid fromthe inner end of the recess into the outer tube, a seat in the water plug for seat in the back headthe bulb on the'inner tube, and a plug/in the water plug for holdingthe bulb on the inner tube in fluid tight contact with its seat. I

2. In a rock drill, the combination of a cylinder, a back head for the cylinder, a pair of concentrically arranged fluid conveying tubes extending through the cylinder, bulbs on said tubes, a-conical seat in the back head for the bulb on the outer tube, a waterplug cylinder, a back head for the cylinder having a recess, a pair of concentrically arranged fluid conveying tubes extendingthrough the cylinder and a recess, bulbs on said tubes, a water plug in the recess bearing with its front end of the bulb of the outer tube to form a fluid tight contact between the back ing leakage of fluid from onetube to the head and the said bulb, said Water plug havother, and a plug screwed in the Water plug ing longitudinal passages in its front end for holding the bulb on'the inner tube fi'rm ly Q conveying pressure fluid from the inner end on its seat.

of the recess to the outer tube, aseat in the In testimony whereof I have signed this v rearward endof the Water plug cooperating specification.

with the bulb on the inner tube for prevents WILLIAM A. 

